Sold down the river - Salva le Foreste

28SOLD DOWN THE RIVER© FORESTS MONITORBecause of disruptions tothe railway as a result ofthe civil wars, logs fromnorthern Congo have beenleaving the country on thisroad via Cameroon.exploitation. 12 In 1995, 37% of the total forest areaof Congo was held in concessions and this hasincreased rapidly since 1996.There are two main areas of commerciallyexploitable natural forests in Congo: 13§ In the south, in the regions of Kouilou-Mayombe and Chaillu-Niari, forests cover 4.5 millionhectares of which just over 4 million hectares wereheld as concessions in 1995. 14 Forests in these regionsare relatively accessible and have been intensivelyexploited since the 1940s. 15 In 1990, over 50% of thecountry’s total production came from here. 16 The twomain tree species targeted are Okoumé and Limba.Logging operations in the south virtually ceasedbecause of the civil war;§ In the north, forests cover 17.3 millionhectares, 17 of which 8.9 million are deemedexploitable. 18 Prior to 1996, concessions had been allocated for 2.1 million hectares ofnorthern forests and forestry activities were limited because of the relative isolation of theregion; this has been changing rapidly. In 1996 alone, 3.2 million hectares were allocatedfor timber exploitation 19 and, since 1998, President Sassou Nguesso has been activelyseeking multinational logging companies to take over the exploitation of the remainingunallocated forests in the north of the country. Many of the previously unallocatedconcessions have now been allocated and former parastatals have been privatised. As aresult, the northern forests are becoming increasingly significant for timber production.The two main tree species targeted are Sapelli and Sipo.The state department responsible for the forestry sector is the Ministry of Forest Economy(Ministère de l’Economie Forestière). The forestry industry was until recently legally governedby the 1974 Forestry Code. Its revision by Parliament began in 1993, which produced a draftrevised version in June 1998 (see below). The 1974 law specified that the forest be divided intomanagement units (unités d’aménagement), each of which must have a precise plan ofmanagement and exploitation. 20 Stipulations regarding harvesting and development practiceswere set out, as well as how much concessionaires could produce per year (VMA – volumemaximum annuel). Of the 27 management units that existed in 1990, only five had amanagement plan but none observed it. 21 In northern Congo none of the active forestry unitshave a management plan, although some companies are now developing them.The June 1998 version of the Forestry Code includes the following objectives: 22§ Sustainable management of forests;§ Conservation of biological diversity;§ Reforestation, mainly through communal and industrial plantations;§ Decentralisation of the sector and international co-operation;§ Development and diversification of industries based on the local transformation of almostall log production. To attain this objective, the new code establishes that, whereas themaximum period of production concession is for 10 years, permits for the processingindustry can last up to 15 years and can be renewed.In January1998, President Sassou Nguesso announced that logging companies were forbiddento export logs 23 and that all companies had to present a plan for timber processing. 24 In March2000, however, the Congolese government finally approved the law, and it stated that 60% oftimber production must be processed locally. 25 Although the increased emphasis ondownstream processing should bring additional revenues to the government, theimplementation of this policy will not be immediate given that processing facilities have beenlittle developed in the country to date; in 1997, the country had 30 processing units but onlyfive had export capacity. Most exports are still of logs.The government often lacks the capacity to develop social infrastructure, particularly in thenorth. As a result, social development projects are often specified as part of the contractbetween government and forestry companies and are known as the cahier des charges. Projectsinclude the construction of roads, schools and clinics. In some instances, these projects areundertaken in lieu of taxes or by the company under contract to the government, and aretherefore at the government’s, and not the company’s, expense.Congo (Brazzaville)’s forestry taxes are considered to be low and substantial revenues havebeen lost because of irregularities; the government itself estimates that US$ 4 billion in timberindustry levies have been foregone as a result. 26 Logging companies still have considerableroom for negotiation about timber volumes and taxes. This has facilitated corruption in the